Third D-10 AAA Girls Playoff Position Restored

PIAA District 10 officials have confirmed that a third playoff position for D-10 in the girls AAA statewide basketball playoffs has been restored.

After having held three slots in recent years, District 10 saw the PIAA, the state high school athletics governing body, trim their allotment by one team this year. A proposal to restore the third slot, and eliminate one of the seven positions held by District 7 (the WPIAL) was voted down at the PIAA’s December meeting. That proposal, though, was apparently approved this week.

The two-team scenario would have meant a D-10 AAA girls team (there are 14) would have been required to reach the district championship game before qualifying for the PIAA tournament. The updated brackets will mean that the two semifinal losers will have a shot at the state tourney by winning a third-place contest.

The D-10 AAA girls field expanded to 14 teams this season with the move of multiple state AA champion Villa Maria up into the AAA ranks, and the merger of Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley and Linesville High Schools, all formerly class A competitors, into the AAA Conneaut High School. Villa Maria is currently the top-ranked team in District 10 Region 6, and Conneaut leads the pack in Region 3.